The bottom one here is for an August release called STAR TREK: MYRIAD UNIVERSES -- ECHOES & REFRACTIONS, which features more goodness by Keith R. A. DeCandido, Chris Roberson, and Geoff Trowbridge. Marco Palmieri, Pocket Books' senior editor and STAR TREK overseer, sent me the following comment that Geoff dropped on a discussion board yesterday, "Whereas some artists work in oils or watercolors, Picacio's medium of choice is comprised entirely of awesome." I got a good laugh out of that one....much appreciated, Geoff. :) Shoutout to Keith for his recent Scribe Awards nominations, and add another notch in the Roberson/Picacio collaboration list, which always makes me happy.

Very happy to hear that you're pleased with the covers. That makes me happy, as you know this material inside-out.

Answer to your question: my portrait of Thelin is based on two reference points: 1. the animated version of him (you're correct on that one); 2. a good friend of mine, Jeff Lucas, who lives here in San Antonio....Jeff's a diehard Trekkie connoisseur from way back, and I thought it would be cool to use his face as the model for Thelin, plus it didn't hurt that he had certain facial features that echoed the animated version.

About Me

JOHN PICACIO is a two-time Hugo Award-winning illustrator of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. He is the owner and founder of Lone Boy. His artwork has illustrated the covers of books and works by Michael Moorcock, George R. R. Martin, Harlan Ellison, Robert Silverberg, L.E. Modesitt, Jr., Dan Simmons, Joe R. Lansdale, Jeffrey Ford, Frederik Pohl, James Tiptree, Jr., Mark Chadbourn, and many more. His accolades also include the World Fantasy Award, the Locus Award, seven Chesley Awards, and two International Horror Guild Awards, all in the Artist category. He is currently illustrating more cover and storytelling art for worldwide clients, and more Loteria card art for 2014.